


The Bones of What You Believe

by zhiantara



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Demons, F/M, Fantasy, Fruits Basket but make it Dungeons & Dragons?, Mythology & Folklore, Romance, playing fast and loose with irish/celtic/british folklore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25436764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhiantara/pseuds/zhiantara
Summary: In a forest full of faeries and far darker things, an orphan girl named Tohru struggles to survive on her own. When she's attacked by a group of demons, an orange-haired ranger comes to her rescue. He takes her to the mysterious Castle Sohma, where she'll soon learn that a dark legacy haunts the inhabitants--none moreso than her newfound savior.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Kyou
Comments: 25
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

Today was going to be a good day, Tohru was certain. The last two days, she could admit with hindsight, had not been particularly good, but today was different. Today she’d found a blackberry bush.

Already, her basket was heavy with them, the tattered rag she’d placed at the bottom stained with the berries’ juices. She blew strands of hair from her face with a satisfied sigh.

“Things are looking up, Mother,” she murmured, tilting her head back to cast a smile at the cloudless sky peeking through the treetops.

It was hard to believe that almost half a year had gone by since she’d lost her mother, since the attack that had left her village crippled. Even now, the smoke still clouded her eyes, the screams still echoed in her head, and her mother--

Tohru shook her head and stood, so quick that she felt a little dizzy. It did her no good to dwell on that night. Not now, not ever. The memories had been easier to ignore when she was living with her grandfather, when she had someone to talk to and steady work to do. But ever since a chunk of his roof had collapsed, leaving his house too unstable to live in, Tohru had been on her own. Of course, her aunt had offered to let Tohru stay with them as well; but she’d heard the reluctance in her aunt’s voice, and after seeing their tiny, two-room hovel, she knew there was realistically not even enough room for her grandfather, let alone for Tohru.

So here she was, alone in the woods with only her own thoughts for company. But she could distract herself soon, after she brought her haul of berries back to her little campsite. Then she could go into the village and look for work. And she would find it today, surely. Because she was certain, as she smiled down at her basket full of blackberries, that today was going to be a good day.

Her hair blew into her face as something small and fast whizzed past her head. She shrieked and pulled the basket close to her chest. From the opposite direction, it came again, or maybe another one of the same; something small and sharp clipped her nose, and it left behind a sickeningly sweet smell that made Tohru sneeze. The clearing erupted in a chorus of high-pitched giggles.

“A human!” squealed a tiny voice, somewhere to her right.

As she whirled towards the voice, frantically scanning the trees for its source, another voice chirped behind her, “A pretty little human!”

Tohru spun back and forth, but could find nothing but gnarled tree trunks and twisted ivy. “Hello? Is there--can I help you?”

More giggles and delighted shrieks were the only responses, and a flash of vibrant green hovered in front of Tohru before darting into the branches above her. She sighed, and at least some of the tension eased from her shoulders. She’d known there were faeries in these woods, she just hadn’t expected them to venture this close to the village. Though they could be mischievous, they were generally harmless.

Her mother’s voice filled her head, reminding her, _“Always be polite, but don’t accept gifts, and_ never _follow them.”_ Tohru straightened before giving a curtsey. “I beg your pardon, I was only passing through. I hope I’m not disturbing you!”

One of the faeries flitted in front of Tohru, and she finally got a good look at it. It was a bit shorter than the length of Tohru’s forearm, with skin like tree bark, and huge black eyes flecked with gold. It hovered before Tohru’s face on wings as fast as a hummingbird’s, nothing more than a blur of green to her eyes. “Little human girls should not be in these woods alone. Not when he is coming.”

Tohru gripped the handle of her basket tightly. “Wh-what do you--”

Another faerie joined the first one. Their laughter took on a cold, cruel tone. “Yes, yes, he is coming. Bet he would eat you whole!”

Dozens of the creatures now floated around Tohru. They seemed to be closing in, all of them snickering. Tohru’s cheeks grew hot, and her empty stomach roiled. They all spoke at once: “Yes, he will love you!” “Such a pretty girl!” “Little human, all alone in the woods!” “He will find you soon!” “Demons love little human girls!”

Tohru sucked in a sharp breath. _Demons!_

“Aw, we’ve scared her!” One of the faeries cackled as it moved right up to Tohru’s nose. “Little human, do you want us to save you from the nasty demon? Come with us, and we’ll save you!”

As much as the mention of demons rattled Tohru, the memory of her mother’s warning kept her grounded. “N-no thank you, but it is very kind of you to offer. I’ll b-be going now.”

The faeries howled and protested, but Tohru only curtseyed again and made to step around them. All at once, the faeries ceased their protests and turned their tiny heads towards the trees. A moment later, they scattered into the woods ahead, vanishing as quickly as they’d appeared.

Tohru stood alone in the silent clearing, feet heavy and heart racing. She patted the bag that rested on her hip, pawing at the fabric until she felt the point of a little paring knife. The knife hadn’t been sharpened in ages, but she was glad to have it anyway. It had to be better than nothing, right?

As she took several deep breaths, she reminded herself that demons hadn’t been seen in these woods since the spring attack. And besides, everyone said that the Sohma clan had their rangers and warriors on constant patrol around the village. The Sohmas were powerful; if there was a demon threat, they’d surely stop it. Faeries loved to make mischief, and scaring a young human was probably an easy way to do it.

Satisfied with her reasoning, Tohru squared her shoulders and put on a smile. Her heart still beat fast, but she was sure the walk to the village would calm her. Faerie encounters were a rare thing! She’d have to write to her friends to tell them about it, when she could afford the postage.

The thought of speaking to her friends, if only in writing, instantly cheered her. She smiled down at her basket of berries, humming as she walked. She’d nearly reached the edge of the clearing when a branch snapped behind her.

Tohru froze. What flimsy comforts she’d allowed herself fled in an instant. She couldn’t turn. If she stayed still, if she didn’t look, if she didn’t think at all about what the faeries had said, then maybe… maybe…

A pair of glowing, red eyes emerged from the dimness between the trees, and Tohru’s desperate thoughts suffocated in a haze of dread.

The red eyes were set into a pale face outlined with violet fur, the same sort of fur that covered it from the waist down to its large, cloven hooves. Massive black horns, curled like a goat’s, grew from the creature’s head. The smirk it wore was sickeningly human, as it trudged towards her at a languid pace.

 _An infernal!_ She’d seen many drawings of this sort of demon. Most people who saw them in the flesh did not live to tell about it.

“What do we have here?” he said in a deep, gravelly voice. The demon cocked his head as he bent to look into her face. The stench of sulphur made Tohru’s nose wrinkle. “A human, alone in these woods?” Long fangs flashed as his smirk widened to a wicked grin. “Must be my lucky day.”

What do I do? Her mind raced through all the facts and lessons her mother had given her on what to do if she ever encountered a demon, but it was all just noise, inaudible murmurs, all but where the lessons invariably ended: _“But don’t you worry about that, Tohru. You don’t need to fight, because I’ll always be here. I’ll always keep you safe.”_

Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision, but she didn’t dare blink them away. It was only when the infernal slowly reached towards her with his long, curved claws that she acted. Driven only by instinct to flee, she whirled around--

\--straight into two more infernals who’d been waiting behind her.

Tohru screamed, and before she could make any more movements, the first demon’s burly arms grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the air. All three howled with laughter as Tohru kicked and screamed.

“Keep screaming, girlie!” the first demon sneered. “Won’t do you no good out here!”

She twisted in the demon’s arms, grasping for the bag at her hip. But the demon only tightened his grip until it became hard for her to breathe. When she closed her eyes, all she could see was her mother, smiling at her, saying, _“Get out of this village one day, will you? Go see the world! Or stay here if you’d rather, and make a nice little garden. Whatever you do, just be happy, and live, Tohru. Live as hard as you can.”_

“Please,” she sobbed, going limp in the demon’s grasp. Through the blur of her tears, she could see her basket of berries, toppled on the ground. “I don’t want to die!”

“Well, all right, then.” Claws dug into her cheeks as the infernal turned her face towards him. There was nothing reassuring about his smile. “We’ll keep you alive as long as we can.”

_“Live, Tohru.”_

She screamed again, desperate, maybe pathetic, but still very much alive, and with all her might, she shoved her elbow into the demon’s stomach.

His raucous laughter was cut short as the air left his lungs, and Tohru didn’t know if he’d flung her away or simply dropped her. But she was on the ground, and the three demons towered over her, and none of them laughed now.

Sucking in deep breaths, the main demon bared his fangs and spat, “Bitch!” He brought his clawed hand up, so that she could get a good look. “You’ll be _begging_ to die when we’re through with you!”

He took a step forward, but that was as far as he got before the tip of a sword broke through his chest.

The blade slowly withdrew, and the other two infernals roared as their leader slumped to the ground, revealing a boy with blazing orange hair.

Tohru could only stare up at the boy from where she lay sprawled on the forest floor. He hefted his bloodied sword in front of his face. Fierce eyes, the same color as his hair, met her gaze over the blade.

“Stay down!” he barked.

She didn’t need to be told twice. She curled up and flung her hands up to cover her head. Footsteps raced towards her and then stopped, and she felt the rush of air as the boy leapt over her, straight into the other two demons. Tohru’s fingers clutched her hair, and she could only tremble in the dirt and listen to the screams, grunts, and the slice of blade through flesh. Somehow loudest was the sound of her own teeth chattering in her skull, to the point where she didn’t notice when everything else went silent.

“Hey.”

Tohru sat up with a gasp to find the boy standing alone. He held his sword at his side, and the bodies of the other two demons lay at his feet. He frowned at her. “You all right?”

“I…” Tohru’s hands still hovered near where she’d been holding onto her head. Her eyes darted between the two infernals before her, and she was acutely aware of the one whose body lay behind her. “They… they were…” Her muscles seized and shook so hard that she was sure she’d lost control of her body.

“ _Hey_ ,” he said again, and his gruff voice was firmer but somehow softer. The intensity of it made Tohru seek his gaze. Those strange, fiery eyes seemed to hold her steady, and she clung to them like they were an anchor in a storm.

“They were going to kill me.”

“Yeah,” he replied, as if that was obvious--which, Tohru supposed, it was.

Even as hot tears streamed down her face, a laugh, manic and breathless, escaped her. She was alive! “You saved me!”

The boy’s tanned cheeks turned red. He looked away and began rummaging through one of several pouches on his belt.

But Tohru continued to stare at him. As impolite as it was, focusing on him seemed to steady her. She did not shake so violently now. “How can I ever repay you?” she said. “I don’t have much, but--”

“Huh?” Now his ears were red, too. He’d pulled a simple piece of cloth from his bag. “That’s a weird thing to say,” he muttered.

“It is?”

Instead of replying, he took half a step towards her, hesitated, and then leaned in the rest of the way, stretching out his arm to hand her the cloth.

She slowly took it from him, frowning. “Is… is there something on my face?”

He finally met her gaze again and gestured vaguely at his own face. “Yeah, you’re… blood. You’re bleeding, a little.”

Blood. It wasn’t just tears on her cheeks, she realized. She was bleeding, where the demon had grabbed her face with his claws.

The demon.

Tohru whirled around to find the infernal’s corpse still behind her. His black blood seeped into the brown leaves, inching closer to her feet. Gasping for breath, she scrambled away from the corpse, from his brethren nearby. Their cruel laughter rang in her head.

“Here, look at me.” The boy entered her vision, blocking the corpses behind him, but not the blood on the ground, not the laughter in her ears--

She felt something firm knock against the top of her head. The boy’s voice broke through the echoing laughter. “ _Look at me._ ” She did, finally. His fist still rested on her head. “Can you stand?”

She might have nodded, or maybe she was just shaking. She fell into his eyes again, they were all she had to hold on to--

His hand wrapped around her arm, and he yanked her to her feet. She found herself suddenly staring at his collarbone.

“Come on,” he said, as he dragged her to the other side of the clearing. “Sit. Deep breaths, in through your nose, out through your mouth.”

She dropped onto the ground and clutched the cloth he’d given her to her chest, sucking deep breaths in through her nose as he’d instructed. When her heartbeat began to slow, she brought the cloth up to her cheek, but it felt like the blood had already begun to dry. With her wits mostly returned to her, shame fell like a stone in her belly. This stranger had watched her fall entirely apart, and after saving her when she was incapable of saving herself.

 _Useless_ , she thought. _I’m useless._

“Thank you,” she murmured. “For everything--thank you.”

He did not look at her when he gave his soft reply, “It’s nothing.”

“It’s _not_ nothing!” She balled her fists atop her thighs and stared up at him. “I’d be dead now if you hadn’t shown up!”

“It’s not--” He sighed and rubbed his eyes. The redness was back in his cheeks again, or maybe it had never left. “I was just out on patrol.”

For the first time, she took a close look at his attire. He was lightly armored, wearing a dark leather cuirass and bracers over a plain linen shirt. For the first time, she noticed the bow and quiver of arrows strapped to his back.

“Are you a ranger?” she asked.

“Uh, yeah. I guess.”

She smiled. “I’ve always loved rangers! So resourceful, and so willing to help others, and…” She let out a little laugh. “And much better at surviving out in the woods than I am.”

He raised an eyebrow, and she caught in the corner of his lips what could’ve almost been the beginnings of a smile. “Right.” The frown returned quickly, however. “What were you doing out here, anyway?”

“Oh, I was just gathering--” She pointed towards where she’d dropped her basket, only to find it mangled on the ground, its contents scattered, smashed, and soaked in demons’ blood.

“...food,” she muttered. Her stomach groaned balefully in response.

“Oh.” He scratched the back of his head and looked away.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around her waist, as if she could stifle her growling stomach. “And here I was just telling myself that it was going to be a good day.” Her chest tightened and her mind darkened, smokey, smoke closing in, and before her thoughts could get any darker, she shook her head roughly and smiled up at him. “But it still is a good day! Because I’m alive, and I got to meet you!”

She may as well have yelled at him with how he staggered backwards, his eyes wide. Growling, he tugged a rag from his waist and ran it up and down his bloodied blade. “You said you wanna repay me?” The harsh edge had returned to his voice. “Then don’t wander around in the woods by yourself anymore. In fact, just stay out of the woods altogether.”

Tohru huffed out a nervous laugh. “R-right…”

He heaved a sigh and turned to leave. “Come on, I’ll take you back to the village.”

“But I--” Her cheeks grew hot, and she stared down at her clasped hands to avoid seeing his expression. “I don’t live in the village.”

Leaves crunched beneath his boots as he stepped towards her, and she dared to peek up at his face. His eyes darted up and down, scanning, analyzing her like she was a set of footprints in the dirt. That perpetual frown turned into a scowl as realization seemed to settle in. Tohru looked away again. “You’re joking,” he said.

She shook her head.

“For how long?”

“Four days!” She shot to her feet as she spoke, and immediately her head spun (she really should’ve eaten some of those berries when she had the chance). She hoped the determination she felt made it onto her face. It was something to be proud of, wasn’t it? She’d made it on her own out here for four whole days--well, if one didn’t count this current incident. “And it’s only temporary. I’ve been going into the village every day looking for work. Just a few more jobs, and then I’ll have enough coin to rent a room at the inn, maybe…”

She trailed off as her confidence faltered. In truth, she’d only managed to get a few hours worth of work, washing an old man’s laundry for a few copper pieces three days ago. People seemed ill inclined to part with their coin these days, ever since the demon attack in the spring. Too many crops had been burned, too many workshops destroyed.

The boy’s scowl softened as he tilted his head. His fiery gaze seemed to pierce right through her. That softer look was somehow so much worse than his previous aggravation.

 _Please_ , she thought, _please don’t look at me like that. Like it’s pathetic. Like I’m pathetic._

“I know I am,” she whispered.

“Huh?”

It was only when he spoke that she realized she’d said her last thought aloud. She clutched her hand to her chest and exclaimed, “Nothing! Um, anyway, I’m fine out here, really!”

“No, you’re not.”

“But--”

He lifted his sword and pointed it at the nearest demon corpse. “You think you’ll be fine when more of these things come around? Just because you had a few lucky days doesn’t mean these woods are safe.”

Tohru didn’t want to hear him. She wanted to plug her ears until he stopped talking. She wanted her first real conversation with another person in days to be gentler than this. She didn’t want this strong, sword-wielding stranger to see her cry.

“Where else can I go?” She’d meant for it to be a genuine question, not the pitiful lament that her tears turned it into.

“You really don’t have anyone you can stay with?”

Her grandfather had asked her a similar question, and her answer hadn’t been a _lie_ , really: she’d just told him that she was sure she could find somewhere to go. He probably hadn’t remembered that her only friends had both been gone for months: Saki had left the village last autumn, recruited by one of the many lords that sought use of her magic. Arisa had left soon after the spring attack; her and several other villagers had banded together to seek revenge on the demons who’d left their homes in ruin.

“I used to live with my grandfather,” she said, “but last week, the roof collapsed. Grandfather went to live with my aunt, but… it’s such a small house, and they didn’t have much food; there really wasn’t any room for me.”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “So they kicked you out?”

Tohru raised her hands in front of her. “Oh, no, not at all!”

He squinted. “So they don’t know you’re out here.”

“I…” She tapped her toe into the dirt. “...might have implied that I had somewhere I could stay.” Her cheeks burned at the admission, and the scowl the boy gave her didn’t help. Somehow, she felt like he could right through her, straight into the darkest parts of her heart, and he didn’t seem to like what he saw.

“Fine!” he declared, and Tohru jumped at the outburst. He sheathed his sword rather forcefully, and as he marched past her, he commanded, “Wait here.”

“Huh?” The boy seemed to have come to some sort of decision, though what, Tohru had no clue.

He approached the bodies of the demons and said, “I gotta find out which clan these are from.”

“Oh,” said Tohru, still thoroughly confused. She couldn’t help but flinch as he knelt beside the nearest demon, and she held her breath when he grabbed the creature’s wrist. He cursed at whatever he found there before flinging the limp arm aside.

As he stood and walked back to her, he asked, “You got any valuables you’re keeping somewhere?”

“Y-yes, in my tent.” She wrung her hands. “But, I beg your pardon…” She thought for a moment on how to make her next question sound anything but pathetic and came up entirely short. “Am I in some sort of trouble? I really didn’t mean any harm, living out here!”

“What?” He raised his eyebrows in shock before giving his head a rough shake. “No, you’re--you’re fine. It’s just… I have to report back to the castle anyway, so you might as well come with me.”

Tohru’s eyes widened. “The castle?” She gasped. “Are you from the Sohma clan?”

His left hand fidgeted with the hilt of his sword. “Well, yeah. Not many other people sending patrols out here, as far as I know.”

“Right…” Tohru’s mind was a whirlwind. Of course, it made sense. Though Castle Sohma and its massive grounds lay well outside her village, there were no lords or clans more powerful in the land for a hundred miles. The village’s ragtag militia and wandering rangers were nothing compared to the Sohmas’ martial power. They were the villagers’ best line of defense against the demons that roamed the countryside, but even so, they asked for no offerings besides open trade and communication. Though they allowed merchants and craftsmen free range of the courtyard just within their walls, Tohru did not know anyone who’d ever been allowed into the castle itself.

She wondered how long her knees had been shaking.

“You said you have a tent?” the boy prompted. Tohru wondered with a blush how long he’d been waiting for her to break from her stupor. “Is it far?”

She shook her head and pointed towards the trees. “That way. Not far.”

“Well?” He gestured towards where she’d pointed, and when she started walking, he fell in step behind her.

Snapping twigs and crunching leaves were the only sounds as they traversed through the underbrush. Tohru filtered through the dozens of questions she had in an attempt to find one that didn’t sound too prying. The boy already seemed annoyed with her, she didn’t want to bother him further.

“Oh!” Tohru stopped suddenly and turned to face him. “Forgive me, I’ve been so rude. I haven’t even told you my name!” She curtseyed. “I’m Tohru. Honda Tohru.” She folded her hands in front of her skirt and waited with a hopeful smile.

“Uhh…” The boy looked away, his face red once again. “Kyo.”

Her smile widened, and she curtseyed again. “It’s very nice to meet you, Kyo.” She took the opportunity, while he was looking away, to observe him. As her eyes were passing over his shoulders, she noticed a tear in his left sleeve, and bloodied skin beneath.

Tohru’s hands flew up to her face with a gasp. “Oh, no!”

Kyo whirled around, his hand immediately wrapping around his sword grip. “What? What is it?”

“Your arm! You’re bleeding!”

“Huh?” He lifted his arm and ran his finger across the scar, wincing slightly as fresh blood seeped from the wound. “Oh.”

“We have to clean this up!” Tohru grabbed his wrist and began to drag him through the woods. “I have some bandages in my tent.”

“You really don’t have to.”

“Of course I do!” She glanced back to find him wide-eyed and bewildered. She hoped she wasn’t pulling too hard on his wrist. “Besides, you don’t want it to get infected!”

He made no further protests as she led him to the little clearing where she’d made her camp. The tattered leather tent, which she’d pulled from the rubble of her grandfather’s house, had thankfully not collapsed yet. She gestured for Kyo to sit on the boulder in front of her tent, while she attempted to shoo away the family of raccoons who loitered nearby (they searched her tent every day, but never found anything edible). On her hands and knees, she poked her head into the tent and grabbed the knapsack that had all of her belongings. First, she checked that the faded butterfly patch was still there (it was), and then she rummaged through chemises and stockings until she found her roll of bandages. A little vial of honey, which she could use to fight infection, was in the bag at her waist.

Back outside, Kyo sat on the boulder with one bracer at his feet; he was currently rolling his sleeve up to get to the wound, just above his elbow. The skin of his arm was warm and sunkissed, like his face, and she noticed for the first time that his hands were quite large. She blinked a few times before shaking her head and joining him on the boulder.

“You sure you wanna waste bandages on this?” he asked as she poured out her waterskin onto a clean cloth she’d found in her bag. “It’s really not that bad.”

“It’s the least I can do!” she replied. She dabbed the cloth against the wound, which made Kyo suck in a sharp breath between his teeth. “Sorry,” she whispered. “Does it hurt badly?”

“It’s fine.” He didn’t look at her, but his gaze darted between every tree in the clearing. Tohru wondered if he was watching for more threats. “It’s my own fault. I was sloppy.”

“You couldn’t have been that bad, if you managed to fight three of them all by yourself.”

A noncommittal grunt was his only reply. He remained silent as she continued to dress the wound, and no sooner had she finished tying the bandage than he leapt to his feet and rolled his sleeve back down.

“Thanks,” Kyo muttered. He picked his bracer up and began buckling it back onto his wrist. “This makes us even, so you can stop thanking me now.”

“But you only got hurt because of me!”

“No, I got hurt because I messed up.” His eyes were like wildfire when he finally trained them onto her. “I would’ve killed those demons no matter what, you just happened to be in the way!”

Tohru flinched away from the wrath in his voice. As she tried to stammer an apology, he let out an anxious groan. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw him raise his hands as if in surrender.

“I didn’t-- I don’t mean--” His own sputterings ended with an exasperated sigh. “Look, just… if you want to thank me, then go pack up your things. I’ll help you with your tent.

Tohru had no more fight left in her. It did not take long for her to do as she was told; she emerged after only a few minutes, with her knapsack at her back and her bedroll beneath one arm.

Kyo raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?”

“It was storming,” she mumbled. Kyo’s form seemed to spin around her; she’d knelt and stood too quickly. She was so very tired. “The night our roof collapsed… they said the rain had been too heavy. There wasn’t much we could salvage.”

“Here--” His voice grew soft, and he held something out to her: some pieces of jerky, resting on wax paper. Tohru’s stomach let out a monstrous growl. “Eat. You look like you’re about to pass out.”

Nearly all sense of propriety was trampled by her desperate hunger. She took the jerky without protest and barely uttered a “thank you” before shoving the first piece into her mouth. A whimper escaped her; she hadn’t tasted meat in days.

One corner of Kyo’s mouth quirked up. “Yeah, I thought so.” He walked around her and began taking down her tent.

Tohru tried to savor the last few bites, but they were gone far too soon. Even so, it was a relief to have something so much more substantial in her belly than foraged mushrooms. She turned to help Kyo, only to find that he’d already finished.

He tucked the pieces of the tent under his arm and said, “Let’s go. I’ve got a horse tied up at the edge of the woods; you can ride him the rest of the way.” He didn’t wait for her to reply before turning and walking towards the trees.

She hurried to catch up. “It’s all right, I can walk!”

“I doubt it. You look like you haven’t had a decent meal in weeks. You don’t want to faint in front of the prince, do you?”

“Really, I can--” As her brain caught up to the rest of his words, she froze. Her eyes went wide. “The prince? Wait, you can’t mean…” She let out a horrified, undignified squeak. “ _Prince Yuki?_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is what happens when someone who loves fantasy novels and video games decides to write fanfic for a shoujo anime? Also, I had the hardest time thinking of a title, so of course, I just went with a cool CHVRCHES lyric.
> 
> _why don't you tell me, what do you need?  
>  there is a blank page for you  
> give me the bones of what you believe  
> maybe they'll save you from me  
> will i be the strong hand keeping you safe  
> or will i break you in half?_
> 
> Oh, and the rating will definitely go up sometime during the last few chapters, due to reasons.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has commented or left kudos! This is such a weird, niche idea that I wasn't sure if anyone else would be interested in it, so the fact that anyone at all is reading makes me super happy. <3

“ _Prince Yuki?_ ”

Kyo’s pace didn’t slow at her reaction. “Keep up, or I’m leaving you behind.”

Tohru hurried forward until she was beside him again. She clutched her bedroll to her chest. “Does this mean… you’re going to bring me to the prince? Because… well, I couldn’t possibly...”

He rolled his eyes. “What, are you scared of him?”

“I-I don’t know…” But who could blame her if she was? She didn’t know anyone who had even met the Sohma prince before, much less spoken to him. People said he rarely left the castle keep, and was never seen beyond the castle walls. Girls in the village would often make trips to the Sohma marketplace, where they could sometimes catch glimpses of him high up on the keep’s balconies, or maybe even walking the grounds. They always returned to the village weeping over the prince’s ethereal beauty.

But more than his supposed beauty, he would surely be the one controlling the Sohma warriors. And it seemed, now, that he would be the one who decided if Tohru had a real home somewhere, or if she would be trudging back into the woods in disgrace, this time without a ranger to protect her.

She swallowed hard. “Are you sure it’s a good idea for me to meet him?”

Kyo seemed more focused on the trees ahead than in whatever Tohru was saying. “Sure, why not?”

“Well…” She looked down at her dress, once a dark blue that had now faded to nearly grey. Threadbare and stained, it was no better than the other dress she owned, which was currently stuffed into her knapsack. Strands of loose hair, fallen from her braid after her tussle with the demons, tickled the skin of her neck. Her sorry excuse for “baths” recently had been to scrub herself, bit by bit, with an old rag and the freezing cold water of a nearby stream.

“I’m a mess!” she wailed.

He turned to her with wide eyes, startled at her outburst. “What are you talking about?” He looked away again and muttered, “You look fine.”

“That’s very kind of you to say, but I’m in no condition to be visiting a prince!”

“Stop worrying about it. Trust me, he’s seen worse. One time, one of our warriors went to the throne room with demon entrails hanging off his shoulders.”

Tohru felt the blood drain from her face at the mental image. “The-- the warrior, was he in a great hurry?”

“He said he forgot he needed a bath.”

“Oh.” Tohru tried to shake the image from her head, and looking up at Kyo, asked, “Have you seen very many battles?”

He lifted a low-hanging branch out of their path and gestured for her to walk through. As she did, he replied, “Not that many. Skirmishes, mostly. I usually fight on my own.”

“That must be difficult.”

He only shrugged and offered no further response.

As the forest canopy gave way to the clear blue sky, Tohru blinked and rubbed her eyes against the sunlight. Rolling hills, dotted by trees and unkempt hedges, spread out before them like carpets of green and gold. They’d emerged at the edge of one of many fields on the outskirts of the village. A brown horse, tied to a tree, grazed nearby.

Kyo approached the horse and untied it from the tree. “Have you ever ridden before?”

“No...” She held her clenched fists up in a show of determination that didn’t quite match how she really felt. “But I’ve seen other people do it!”

“Oh, boy.” Kyo pointed at her right hand, then tapped the highest part of the saddle. “That hand goes here. Other hand goes here. Left foot in the stirrup. Got it?”

“Got it!” She had seen people mounting and riding horses all her life, and they never made it look too hard. Maybe she could at least do this much. She had to prove to Kyo that she wasn’t entirely useless.

She positioned herself as he’d instructed while he held the horse’s bridle. She pushed off with her right foot into a jump, and immediately landed back where she’d started.

“It’s not a jump,” said Kyo, his voice bristling with impatience. “You have to pull yourself up.”

“Right… sorry.”

It took a few more tries, but she did manage eventually.

“Finally,” Kyo muttered as he tied her tent and bedroll behind the saddle.

“Sorry,” she said, her head drooping.

“Stop apologizing!” he snapped.

Tohru reflexively opened her mouth to apologize for _that_ , but the glare he sent her was cold enough to freeze the words in her throat. She stayed quiet as he tugged the horse’s lead and began their trek around the edge of the farmland.

In an attempt to distract herself from the shame gnawing at her belly, she gazed out at the fields of wheat in the distance, shining golden in the noonday sun, tall and nearly ready for harvest. The field likely belonged to the Takei family, whose farmland filled most of the space between the village and the castle walls. Tohru had hoped, when harvest came, that she could find steady work in their fields. But the Takei family was fiercely loyal to the Sohmas; if Tohru made a bad impression on the prince today, would that affect her future work prospects? She could only hope that the prince didn’t concern himself with such lowly matters. She’d already made a horrible impression on one of the Sohma rangers, a powerful one, at that, who was important enough to have audiences with the prince. His word would surely be influential as well.

_Oh, Mother._ She squeezed her eyes shut. _I’ve made a mess of things._

LIke a stone shattering glass, Kyo’s loud, sharp voice broke through her dark thoughts: “I’m sorry!”

His outburst came as such a shock to Tohru that she yelped and nearly fell from the saddle. Luckily, the horse’s only response was a cranky grunt as it continued on its way.

“Wh-what?”

Kyo had turned away from her, but she could see the edge of his face burning red. “I’m sorry,” he said, still rough but quieter this time. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I just… I get nervous being out in the open like that. There was already one demon pack wandering around, and we were in the perfect spot for an ambush.” He finally looked at her, and despite the scowl he seemed to always wear, there was something gentle in his gaze. “But anyway, I shouldn’t be taking that out on you. So… I’m sorry, all right?”

Tohru blinked several times as she tried to calm her stomach, which had suddenly decided to do somersaults. When she felt like she could speak in a mostly steady voice, she said, “I understand. It’s fine, really. I mean, if you’re used to fighting alone, it must be strange having someone else tag along. Especially…”

She cringed, but before she could finish the thought, he spoke, “Yeah, I’m… not the best at talking to people. I’m not used to it.”

She observed him for a quiet moment. Even from her vantage point atop the horse, he looked tall, and with his striking hair color and handsome face, he would certainly stand out in any crowd she knew. Was he really not used to talking to people? Had the ranger lifestyle isolated him that much?

“Well,” she said, “if it helps, I think you’re doing a fine job of talking right now. This is the most I’ve spoken to anyone all week!”

He snorted. “Bad luck for you, huh?”

“What?” she exclaimed. “No, not at all!”

When he glanced up at her, she couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of the little smile he wore. Butterflies fluttered through her stomach, and she found herself smiling back.

They continued on across the tree-dappled moors in a silence that Tohru found far more comfortable than the one before. Eventually, they came to the road that led towards the village, and Kyo turned them northwards onto the road. It did not take them long to reach where the road split; the right path would take them into the village, but they took the left path. Beyond, Tohru could just make out the walls and gleaming white stone spires of Castle Sohma.

Another field lay between the diverging paths, this one green and dotted by cows and sheep; the air filled with the pungent smell that accompanied such animals. After a few minutes down this path, they saw a large, flat boulder on the other side of the fence, and on the boulder, a tabby cat stretched out luxuriously beneath the sun. The cat lifted its head as they approached.

“Oh, how cute!” If Tohru hadn’t been high atop a horse, she would’ve tried calling the cat over, or maybe even jumping the fence, if she felt bold enough.

Kyo halted. He and the cat locked eyes.

Tohru’s gaze darted between the two. The cat looked entirely relaxed, as cats were wont to be, but Kyo’s brows knitted together in a thoughtful frown.

As suddenly as he’d stopped, Kyo looked away and began walking again, tugging the horse behind him. The cat stretched and rolled onto its other side.

Tohru let out a soft giggle. “Do you like cats, too, Kyo?”

“Not really.” Before she could inquire further, he said, “What sort of work do you like to do?”

The subject change caught her off-guard. “Huh?”

“You said you want to work so you can pay for somewhere to live. So what sort of work would you want to do? Yuki might ask, so you should have an answer ready.”

_He calls the prince by his first name!_ They must be good friends--or maybe they were even related! He was certainly handsome enough to be on the same level as the village girls’ description of Prince Yuki’s unearthly beauty; though they said the prince had silver hair, or grey, depending on who was recounting the sight.

Tohru was so lost in her musings that she nearly forgot he’d asked her a question. It was only when she saw his eyebrow raise that she replied, “Oh! Well, anything, really, as long as I’m strong enough to do it. I can clean, I can mend clothing, do laundry… Oh, and I’m a decent cook, I think.” She found herself toying with strands of the horse’s mane, but the horse didn’t seem to mind. “Do you think any of that could be useful?”

Kyo shrugged. “Yuki has a lot of influence in the village. I’m sure he could convince someone to hire you.”

“Would he really trouble himself with that? It seems so… beneath him.”

“Maybe. Or he’d delegate it to someone. Either way, you’ll be fine.” Kyo wrinkled his nose. “Yuki’s an asshole, but he’s not heartless.”

Tohru clutched at her chest and gasped. She was no stranger to curse words, certainly not after spending a lifetime around her mother, but hearing him direct one so pointedly at _the Sohma prince_ nearly gave her a heart attack. “A- a- are you sure you’re allowed to say that?”

Kyo huffed out a laugh. “Don’t worry, he knows how I feel. And the feeling’s mutual.”

“You don’t get along? But… the way you speak about him, it seems like you are very familiar with him.”

He flinched, like a painful wound or memory had flared up. “We, uh, grew up together. And we’re… kind of…” He scratched the back of his head and mumbled the next part: “Related. Sort of. Distantly.”

Tohru’s hands flew up to her mouth as she sucked in an even louder gasp. “You… you’re _royalty_?”

He shot her a scowl. “Do I look like royalty to you?”

She wasn’t sure if that was a trick question or not. Tall, strong, and beautiful all seemed like the markings of royalty; but she really had no frame of reference, except for the stories her mother had told her, and many of those royals had been disguised or cursed. “Well… all the princes I know come from fairytales. But you look like you could be one of those.”

Kyo’s eyes widened as his entire face turned red. He cleared his throat and looked away, muttering, “Well, I’m not. Far from it, actually.”

She laughed. “That’s a relief! I’d feel even more embarrassed if a nobleman had saved my life.”

He didn’t respond, and once again the only sound was the clop of hooves against the dirt.

The sun had passed its peak in the sky and begun its afternoon descent when they finally stood before the imposing wood-and-iron gates that marked the entrance to Castle Sohma. Tohru gulped at the sight; these gates were taller than any structure in the village. Currently, the gates were open, and guards stood at either side of the entrance. Kyo did not look at the guards, but he lifted one hand in an idle greeting. The guards’ gazes passed over them briefly before looking again towards the road. They must have been familiar with Kyo, or at least did not see him as a threat.

Just inside the gates lay the vast marketplace where locals, and maybe even merchants from other towns, sold their wares. The air was filled with the scent of savory foods, with the clang of hammers against anvils, and the ever-present drone of merchants hawking their wares.

“Um, Kyo?” she asked, as he led the horse behind a cluster of booths and away from the bustle of the marketplace. “Can I walk now? I really do feel fine.”

It wasn’t entirely true, but she didn’t want to come out and say that her thighs were incredibly sore. She hadn’t thought that horse-riding would be so painful!

Luckily, Kyo didn’t question her; he simply held the bridle while she awkwardly flung her aching leg over the horse’s back and eventually found her foot on solid ground.

“How’d I do that time?” she asked, as she attempted to disentangle her other foot from the stirrup.

His lips twitched. “Not the worst I’ve seen. But pretty close.” Tohru had the exciting thought that he might’ve been holding back a laugh.

In what felt like no time at all, Kyo had given the horse over to a stablehand and brought Tohru to the doors of the keep. White stone stretched far above her head. At Kyo’s approach, the guards pushed the doors open.

_He really_ must _be important!_ thought Tohru as they passed the thick wooden doors. None of the guards even paused to question him. Once they were through, the doors slowly closed behind them.

“Amazing,” she murmured.

Kyo glanced around before frowning at her in confusion. “It’s just a hallway.”

“No, I mean… _you_. The guards just let you right in!”

“Oh.” He turned and began walking down the torchlit corridor. “Yeah, I come here a lot.”

Tohru felt like her feet had turned to stone. Who was she, to be tagging along after someone like him, into such a grand place as this? What gave her the right? Wasn’t it likely that Prince Yuki would be offended at the sight of her? Would it cause problems for Kyo, who was only trying to help someone less fortunate?

A haggard sigh cut through her thoughts. “Come on. We went through this already. Why are you still so nervous?”

As she met his gaze, those strange eyes piercing straight through her, as they always seemed to do, a sudden boldness seized her heart. Maybe she had no right to be here; but Kyo had brought her all this way, and she wouldn’t let it be for nothing. She would at least try. Surely there was some of her mother’s courage lingering in Tohru’s blood. “You’re right!” she said. “I’ll do my best, I promise!”

She followed him out of the entrance hall, around a corner, and into a wider, grander corridor. On the right, windows overlooking a lush garden stretched from the floor to the high ceiling. On the left, large alcoves housed marble carvings of various animals: a horse with its front hooves in the air, a snake twisting around a branch, a rat gazing skyward.

A pair of older women, carrying trays of food, stood conversing nearby. As Kyo and Tohru approached, the women let out soft gasps. Tohru raised her hand in a meek greeting, but the women pressed their backs against the wall and averted their gazes. Tohru looked down at her filthy clothes and sighed, but remembering her promise to Kyo, she kept moving forward--though she did untie her messy braid and ran her fingers quickly through her hair.

At this end of this grand corridor was another door and another pair of guards. For the first time since their arrival, Tohru saw a real reaction from the guards, or, at least, one of them. A young man, possibly her own age, with tousled black hair and a cheery smile, waved at Kyo.

“Oi, Kyo! Back from your hunt?” The guard looked at Tohru for the first time. “Ooh, you brought home a stray!”

Tohru heard a sharp huff leave Kyo’s flared nostrils. “Is he busy?”

The other guard, shorter and with brown hair, struck the bottom of his spear against the stone floor. “You can’t just walk in on the prince without good reason! State your business, Kyo!”

But the first guard was already opening the door. “Nah, he’s not busy.”

“Thanks, Manabe.” Kyo walked right past the shorter guard, now sputtering indignantly at his partner. Tohru gave them both a quick curtsey and muttered thanks before following Kyo.

The door shut behind them, and Tohru found herself at one end of a great hall. Beneath her feet was a plush carpet of red and gold. Tapestries, weapons and shields, wood and stone carvings, and all manner of relics adorned the walls on either side. In the center of the room was a massive table of dark red wood, and though there was a throne on the opposite end of the room, it was currently empty. A slender figure in purple robes stood pondering some parchments on the table. Wisps of silver hair framed his pale, elegant face.

Without looking up from the table, he spoke in a soft voice, “I really must speak with him about who he allows into the throne room.”

“I’m not here ‘cause I wanna be,” said Kyo.

“Then why--” At last, the boy looked up, and immediately his gaze fell on Tohru. His voice, still soft as a breeze, took on a gentler tone. “Oh, I beg your pardon.”

Kyo glanced back at where Tohru stood in front of the door; he jerked his head in a motion for her to come forward. She scurried up to join him before the table and gave the prince the best curtsey she could manage.

“I’m… so sorry to intrude,” she stammered. “My name is Honda Tohru. I’m so honored to meet you!”

To her shock--and embarrassment--the prince returned her greeting with a bow. “I am Sohma Yuki. It is a pleasure to meet you as well.” He turned his shining silver eyes to Kyo. “But may I inquire as to the circumstances?”

“I found her out in the woods.”

A new voice chimed in, coming from directly above Tohru’s right shoulder. “And what was a young girl doing out in the woods?”

Instinctively, Tohru screamed and flinched away from the new voice. It had not been a good day for strange voices appearing from out of nowhere.

Prince Yuki only sighed at the outburst. But Kyo clenched his fist and yelled, “Goddammit, Shigure, be a little less creepy, for once!”

Beside her, the dark-haired man, whose voice had caught her so off-guard, gave an innocent shrug. He peered at Tohru with dark eyes and a mischievous smile. “Forgive me, young lady, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“N-no, it’s fine! I’m so sorry for screaming at you!”

“You don’t have to apologize to him!” Kyo turned back to Yuki and said, “She was attacked. Three infernals, Asmodeus clan, looked like.”

Yuki’s expression darkened. “How close to the village?”

“Pretty damn close, less than an hour’s walk. And you’d better tell the Takei family to count their livestock; more demons were wandering through their fields last night.”

“You saw them?”

“No. But someone else did.”

As Yuki considered that information with a thoughtful frown, the man--Shigure, Kyo had called him--now regarded Tohru with a more earnest expression. He gently took her chin and moved her head to the side. “Looks like you were scratched up a bit. Any other injuries?”

“No. I was lucky. Kyo got there just in time. If he hadn’t been there…” She raised her voice and glanced towards Yuki; if he and Kyo did not get along, maybe it would be good for the prince to hear of Kyo’s bravery. “He saved my life.”

But Yuki didn’t respond. Shigure, however, leaned back from Tohru with another of those mysterious smiles. “Did he, now? Well done, Kyo.”

Kyo didn’t seem to care for the compliment, with how he folded his arms and scoffed.

Yuki stepped around the table and approached Tohru. He was nearly as tall as Kyo, and while she’d call Kyo “handsome,” the word didn’t quite suffice for Yuki. She could understand why the village girls who’d seen him had been so enamored, so grandiose with their descriptions of him. His demeanor was soft, and his expression was gentle as he looked upon her, but there was something inscrutable about him, like staring at the moon through a veil of mist.

“Shigure does raise a good question, though,” he said. “Why were you out in the woods by yourself? Folk from the village tend not to wander there alone, I thought.”

“Um, well…”

“She was living out there,” Kyo answered for her.

The loud snort that Shigure let out did little to ease Tohru’s embarrassment. Yuki shot him an icy glare, though his voice remained calm as he spoke, “I do not mean to pry, but if you don’t mind my asking, how did you come to live out in the woods?”

“Oh! It’s all right, I don’t mind. You see, I was living with my grandfather, but last week, that terrible storm came through, and the roof collapsed. We were lucky neither of us were hurt. With all the structural damage, I guess the house isn’t safe to live in anymore. My grandfather was taken in by my aunt and her family, and she did offer to take me in too, but their house is so small, and food was so scarce, and I just… didn’t want to be a burden.”

Yuki tilted his head. “Your parents?”

“Well…” She laced her hands together and looked towards Kyo, hoping that she could borrow some of that fighters’ strength from his eyes; but he had turned away from her. She swallowed and looked back to Yuki. “My father fell ill and died when I was very young. I was raised by my mother. But then, this past spring, when the demons attacked…”

She couldn’t finish the thought, at least not out loud. It was a simple enough sentence, but it wouldn’t leave her throat. It had been trapped there for months, as Torhu swallowed it down every day.

But Yuki seemed to understand. “I see. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“You don’t have to interrogate her about it.” Kyo kept his back to Tohru as he said to Yuki, “She needs steady work and a place to live. Plenty of people in the village would bend over backwards for you, right? There’s gotta be someone who needs a maid or a governess or something.”

“Why send her all the way back to the village?” She felt Shigure’s gentle hands on her shoulders. “We have plenty of work to be done here, right, Yuki?”

Kyo whirled around to gape in horror at Shigure. “Here? No, I meant--”

“Interesting.” Yuki put a knuckle to his lips as he mulled over Shigure’s words. “I suppose we could always use more help.”

Tohru felt as though her heart had stopped. Were they really talking about having her work here, at the castle? It was not at all the outcome she’d expected; and, judging by his reaction, it was not at all what Kyo had intended.

Shigure continued, “And you know, Hatori is always complaining about how he doesn’t have enough help in the infirmary.”

“Very well, then.” Yuki gave her a polite smile. “I’m sure we can find work for you to do in the castle. And a room to sleep in, of course.”

“Hold on!” Kyo looked truly panicked now. He seemed to be almost pleading with the prince as he said, “She can’t actually _stay_ here, right? I mean, she’s… she’s not…”

As he trailed off, Shigure shrugged. “Really, Kyo, what did you expect? Why even bring her here if you didn’t want us to help?”

“I thought you’d give her some money and help her find work in the village and send her on her way! And what was I supposed to do, just leave her there?”

“Exactly. You did the right thing.”

“For once,” Yuki added, still smiling placidly.

“Um.” Tohru was sure that she was missing something essential in this argument, but she certainly didn’t want to be the cause of a fight. “If it’s going to be a problem, I really--”

Shigure silenced her with a flippant wave. “Please ignore Kyo. He’s not used to dealing with people; but you’ve probably already noticed that, haven’t you?”

“Hey, asshole, don’t talk about me like I’m not here!”

Yuki’s smile vanished. “Please don’t make me throw you out of here in front of Lady Honda.”

“Please, I don’t want to cause any trouble, I just--wait.” _Lady_ Honda? Tohru felt her entire face turn red. She’d never been called “Lady” in her life--and by the Sohma prince, no less!

As she stood there, frozen in disbelief, Yuki placed himself between her and the still-fuming Kyo. “It’s no trouble at all, Lady Honda. Trust me, we will be happy to have you here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... have no idea how to write Yuki or Shigure, but hopefully I did all right! Also wow, the word count on this thing keeps getting out of control. Hopefully the next chapter will be a bit more concise. I'd like to get to the cutesy oblivious mutual pining stuff ASAP!
> 
> And yeah, the Student Council members are all Yuki's personal guard, for no better reason than I thought it'd be funny.
> 
> Thank you for reading, I hope you like it so far!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some quick notes, in case things get confusing later:
> 
> _Banshee: a female spirit who weeps and wails to herald a coming death._
> 
> _Barghest: a large, black dog sometimes said to be an omen of death._

As she stood at the entrance to the infirmary, Tohru couldn’t shake the feeling that she didn’t belong there. She expected at any moment that some guard or official would spot her and have her dragged away from the castle.

She’d never been in a real infirmary before. Oh, she’d patched up her mother’s wounds plenty of times, but that had been done on the floor of their little home with whatever materials she could scrounge up in an afternoon, and all her knowledge came from quick conversations with the village apothecary. This was a real place of healing, with beds lined neatly up against one wall, all facing the large windows that looked out onto what seemed to be a lush herb garden. And in the middle of the room there stood a tall man who was probably a real physician.

The physician was currently conversing with the young guard who had escorted Tohru here, a girl named Machi. Machi had actually been in the throne room for the entirety of Tohru’s visit, but had only spoken when the prince had addressed her, asking her to lead Tohru to the infirmary. Tohru had nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of yet another new person lurking in the shadows. It was one embarrassment after another today!

And it was still more embarrassment now, as she lingered alone in the doorway of the infirmary and waited for Machi’s--or anyone’s--instructions. The doctor Machi spoke to was, in addition to their conversation, attending to an armored young man on one of the beds. He looked to be preparing a splint for the man’s arm. A dark haired girl, also lightly armored, fretted at the foot of the bed.

Tohru’s gaze drifted to the other beds, and she was surprised to find so many of them occupied. Demons and other threats had not been heard of in the village since spring, but the men and women in these beds seemed to be mostly soldiers in bloodied bandages. She wondered if they often fought demons lurking in the woods, as Kyo had today.

As she observed the various patients in the room, she almost didn’t notice Machi approaching her. But even as Tohru opened her mouth to speak, the guard made no sign of slowing down. Instead she continued past Tohru and towards the hall, saying as she passed, “I’ll retrieve you when your room is ready.”

“Oh, thank you!” said Tohru, but Machi was already through the door and out into the hall.

She only had a moment to stand there in awkward silence, looking towards where Machi had just been, when a deep voice behind her spoke.

“Tohru, was it?”

She whirled around. “Yes!” Her gaze darted around the room and quickly found the black-haired doctor staring at her with piercing eyes. He hadn’t moved from his position beside the wounded soldier.

“Can you make a poultice? For an inflamed wound.” He pointed at the patient in the bed next to his current charge.

“Oh.” It seemed they were skipping introductions--or likely he’d already heard everything he needed to know from Machi. “Yes, I believe so.”

“Good. You’ll find ingredients in the workroom.” He nodded towards a door in between two nearby beds.

Flustered, but not wanting to disappoint in what might’ve been her first chance to prove herself useful today, she clenched her fists and nodded. “Right!”

She hurried into the room he’d indicated and shut the door behind her. She closed her eyes and leaned against the door and, for the first time in what might’ve been hours, allowed herself to simply breathe. Somehow she’d gone from waking up that morning in a tattered tent in the woods to standing in an infirmary deep within the white stone walls of Castle Sohma. It felt all wrong. What was she supposed to offer these people? Rudimentary first aid skills that she’d learned to help her mother? Skills that had turned out to be no help at all when it truly counted.

Tohru held her fists close to her chest and swallowed her nerves with a shake of her head. Her mother wouldn’t want her to despair, would she?

Tohru opened her eyes, and she gasped at her first real sight of this workroom. The walls on either side were covered entirely with shelves of books, and the wall opposite her had several lines of twine strung across it. All sorts of herbs hung upside down, tied to the twine. A table and chair were in the center of the room; the table was covered in neat stacks of parchment, a mortar and pestle, and a pair of shears.

A sharp yelp from outside made Tohru jump. She winced in sympathy--the doctor must have begun setting the soldier’s broken bone. But the sound reminded her of her task, and with a determined nod, she tied her hair back and approached the wall of dried herbs.

She emerged a few minutes later with a bowl of herbs crushed into a paste and some cloth, and she hurried over to the bed that the doctor had indicated.

After she had finished applying the herb mixture to the wound and was wrapping the cloth around the leg, she heard the doctor’s deep, resonant voice again. “He’ll be fine, but I’m going to keep him here for a few hours.” Tohru glanced up to find the doctor walking with the dark-haired girl towards the door. “But please be more careful with your sparring partners, Kagura.”

“I know!” the girl moaned. “I just get carried away sometimes. I didn’t think an arm could break that easily!”

Not wanting to eavesdrop, and certainly not wanting to ignore the wounded man before her, Tohru returned to her task. She finished wrapping up the leg, and after speaking to the patient, she learned he and several others here had been caught in a scuffle with some demons in the southern end of the woods--those very same woods where Tohru had been sleeping, blissfully ignorant, the past few days.

“Impressive work.”

Tohru looked up to find the doctor holding the bowl that had the remains of her herb mixture. “Oh, thank you! I hope it will work all right.”

He began to walk towards another bed and gestured for her to follow. “I apologize for my rudeness earlier. I normally have more assistants here, but they have been called to deal with other matters. I am Sohma Hatori.”

Another Sohma! Tohru gave him a curtsey. “It’s so nice to meet you! I hope I can be of some assistance, then. I’m not exactly a professional, but I’ll do my best.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

She spent the next few hours assisting Hatori as he made his rounds through the infirmary, administering medicines, replacing old bandages, and whatever else he asked of her. Afterwards, he sent her to the workroom to cut linen into more bandages, until Machi arrived to bring her to her room.

Tohru had expected a room somewhere within the walls of the castle grounds, perhaps shared with some servants or other workers, but she was shocked to find Machi leading her deeper into the keep itself, up a spiral stairway that might’ve been in one of the towers, and down the end of a long hallway.

“The prince sends his apologies,” said Machi as she opened the door. “He had planned to dine with you this evening, but something came up.”

“Oh! It’s perfectly all right, I’m sure he’s very busy. If you could-- if you don’t mind-- could you give him my thanks? I truly am grateful for all that he’s done.”

Machi inclined her head almost imperceptibly and turned to leave without another word.

“Um, Lady Machi?”

Machi stopped. Without turning, she said, “Machi. I’m not a Lady. Only a guard.”

“Oh.” Tohru was certainly not a Lady either, but that hadn’t stopped the prince from addressing her as such. And surely a guard of the prince was more important and worthy of respect than Tohru. But she did not dare argue, not with the way Machi’s back had stiffened, and the other girl was already so hard to read. “I was hoping, if it’s all right, if you might answer a question for me?” Machi barely turned her head, just enough to look back at Tohru. “Do you happen to know where I might find Kyo this time of day?”

Machi paused for a moment, and as she looked away again, said, “South courtyard, maybe. Near the big maple tree. He trains there sometimes.”

“Ah, all right.” Tohru curtseyed, even though Machi couldn’t see her. “Thank you for all your help today! I hope I wasn’t too much of a bother.”

Machi walked away and then stopped, with only a foot and its lifted heel still visible in the doorway. “My room is next door. I won’t always be there, but… you can knock if you need help.”

Tohru’s anxious heart felt a bit lighter. Grinning, she called after the retreating guard, “Thanks again!”

\---

Machi had not led her astray.

Tohru had certainly led _herself_ astray in her attempts to navigate the keep’s many corridors and stairways, but she did eventually find herself outside and, judging from where the sun was dipping below the horizon, turned herself south until she came across an enormous maple tree. The courtyard beneath the tree was empty, save for a red-headed figure swinging a sword against an unseen enemy.

Tohru smiled and hurried towards him. She called out his name as she approached, but he was already turning, swinging his sword in an arc in front of him. Tohru shrieked and jumped back. Kyo answered with his own yelp, then lowered the sword with an exasperated sigh. Beads of sweat dotted his brow, and his chest heaved beneath his linen shirt.

“Watch where you’re going! You can’t just come running at someone who’s got a sword out!”

“Right, sorry…” She smiled sheepishly at the ground. “I’ll be more careful next time.” She looked back up to find him glaring at his sword. “Um, how is your training going?”

He sheathed his sword with a huff and turned away. “Fine.”

“Well… I know that this isn’t what you had in mind when you brought me here, but I’m really so grateful, and I wanted to say thank you and--”

“I already told you, stop thanking me!” He kept his back to her, but she could see his shoulder blades tense through his shirt. "What is it with you? Why are you trying so hard to get to know me? Did you ever think that maybe I just want to be left alone?"

She hadn't. The thought had never occurred to her. So foolish, to think that everyone’s heart was just like hers. She stared wide-eyed at the ground as she croaked, “I… all right. I’m… I’ll be going now.”

It was only when she turned around that she remembered the bundle in her hand, some of the bandages she’d made in Hatori’s workroom, the ones she’d set aside. Should she take them back to Hatori? Give them to someone else? Just shove them under her bed until she needed them? The first two options were still embarrassing, and the third seemed like a waste.

Kyo still had his back to her, and she was in no state to be meeting his gaze anyway; so silly as it was, the only thing she could think to do was place the bundle of bandages on the ground behind him. “I made these bandages while I was in the infirmary. Since it seems like maybe you need some-- well, hopefully you don’t, but in case you do-- but you don’t have to use them if you don’t want to, you can give them to someone else or send them back to the infirmary or--” She spoke as quickly as she could, but the words just kept pouring out of her until she bit her lip to silence herself. “So… that’s all.”

Tohru dug her fists into her eyes and turned away. She’d gotten a few steps away when she heard him stammer behind her, “W-wait--”

Quickening her pace, she threw a smile over her shoulder and called back, “Have a nice evening!”

It took all of her willpower not to break into a full run away from him. She was so focused on her pace that she got herself lost in the keep almost immediately after entering. By the time she found her way back to her room, the sky outside the window had turned deep violet fading to inky blue. Someone had lit a lantern, in addition to the fire blazing in the fireplace near the bed; they’d also brought a tray of stew and bread. The food had gone cold, but Tohru wasn’t about to complain. It was her own fault, after all. She should’ve just stayed in her room.

Though her stomach growled at the sight of the food, Tohru first went to her bag and retrieved the butterfly patch. Its colors had faded in the nearly two decades since her mother had worn it on her cloak, when she’d been part of a band of rogues hopping from town to town. Her mother had repurposed the cloak’s fabric for some other use long ago, but she’d kept the patch as a memento (“Besides, I spent good coin on that embroidery!”). It was the first thing Tohru had looked for in the ruins of their old house.

“Isn’t it wonderful, Mother?” She traced her fingers along the dark outline of the wings. “We have a meal and a warm place to sleep and work to do and…” She’d gotten to the butterfly’s curled antennae when her fingers began to tremble. The muscles of her face worked their way into a big smile. “Well, can’t let this food go to waste!”

\---

_Tohru couldn’t breathe. It was because of the smoke, wasn’t it? She still drew in breaths, but too shallow, too much, too fast like her racing heart. She couldn’t even see the smoke down in this pitch-black cellar; was it even there anymore, drifting in from the chaos outside?_

_She couldn’t stay here, she had to get out, she had to find her mother--but her mother was the one who had put her down here in the first place, who had begged her to stay put, to stay quiet. Had Tohru done that? Had she done well? Probably not, with those shaky, shallow breaths. Surely they could hear her, they would find her._

_But her mother had always said she would keep Tohru safe. Her mother wouldn’t let her down._

_So she waited. She stayed as still as she could. She clamped a hand over her mouth to muffle her gasping breaths. Screams and unearthly howls drifted through the cellar doors like the smoke. What if the fires reached their home? How long would it take until she noticed? How much time had even passed? Was her mother still out there?_

_A pair of daggers. No armor. No training but the tavern brawls of her youth. That was all Kyoko fought with. All alone._

_A good child would be by her side. A good child would have learned to fight. A good child would have fought even without training, would have picked up any stick from the ground and stood by her mother anyway. While Tohru huddled weeping and gasping in a pitch-black cellar._

_She crawled towards the cellar door. She waved her hands in the dark until she felt the wood, then the iron latch. She ignored her grandfather’s voice, begging her to stay. She had to know. It had been too long. She had to know._

_The only sound outside was of crackling fires. Sometime during her waiting, the screams had stopped, but so too had the gutteral noises of the invaders. The smells of smoke and iron and brimstone burned Tohru’s nose. There was nothing but rubble in the alleyway beside their house. She did not see her mother._

_Out in the main street, it was much the same, except for the limbs jutting out from beneath the rubble. Different sounds joined the fires now: hushed, panicked voices, a dog’s howl, and a low, mournful keening in the distance. Tohru kept walking. She would not find her mother buried beneath collapsed walls._

_She lost track of time as she wandered through the streets, her mind hazy as the smokey air. But eventually she came upon a scene of carnage: a mass of bloodied limbs and twisting horns and leathery wings, a dozen demon corpses piled upon the cobblestones. Just beyond, a massive spear had been stuck into the ground; its huge, jagged barbs, drenched in blood, were like nothing the villagers would have ever made. This was the demons’ craft. Folks would whisper of how the demons used them to display their kills like a grim trophy. But there was no prize skewered upon this spear._

_Even in her daze, Tohru could not look upon the scene of bloodshed for more than a few seconds. As she sought a way around the corpses, the keening, which had before been soft and far away like a fading dream, now grew very near._

_She saw the dog first, black and shaggy with pointed ears turning in all directions. Then came the woman. She was small and beautiful and deathly pale. The woman paused her wailing as her red-rimmed eyes met Tohru’s. As one, the woman and the black dog turned their heads towards a nearby fence._

_There she was at last, propped up against the fence. Her eyes were closed, her daggers at her side, her hands carefully folded over her reddened belly._

\---

Tohru awoke with a strangled cry.

She threw off her sweat-soaked sheets and stumbled towards the window. Air, she needed fresh air. She shoved the window open and leaned out as far as she could. Each gasp of air rattled in her chest. Her spine bent lower until her head rested upon the windowsill. When her gasps finally turned to sobs, she clamped her hand over her mouth to silence them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this one took so long! I got caught up with work, a sick baby, and general writer's block. This chapter and the next one are both fairly short, but I split them up because I like having different chapters for each character POV shift. Anyway, thanks to everyone who's stuck around! I'm so grateful for all the comments and kudos. You're all fantastic!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting these chapters back-to-back, since they're both pretty short. Hope you enjoy!

_Once upon a time, thirteen children became orphans. A banshee watched them flee the demons’ flames. She had foreseen the devastation, her wails had drifted through their village the night before; but it was not her place to prevent tragedies, only to forewarn those who were destined to suffer. Still, pity struck her ancient heart, as she watched them wander into the shadowed moors, but it was only when the demons began to stalk the children that she decided to act. She had befriended many of the fair folk long ago, and they had no love for the demons who had torn their way out of the Nine Hells in ages past. The banshee called for aid, and thirteen fae spirits answered. Moved by the plight of the innocent children, they agreed to help. As the demons drew near, the fae spirits approached the children. They offered a bargain:_

_“Our powers shall be yours, and you shall have the strength to fight any who would do you harm. But you shall be human no longer. Our spirits shall be entwined with yours, and with your scions, until your lines come to an end._

_“And ever as we linger in your blood, so shall your purpose be to destroy the ones who have wronged you.”_

_The children agreed, and the demons were vanquished, and the fae-touched children grew to powerful warriors who named all demons their sworn enemies. And how were they to know, in the centuries that followed, that one of these hated foes might creep into their midst? That the infernal blood might one day mingle with their own?_

\---

She was crying.

Her room must have been several storeys down from the parapet where Kyo lay, but he heard her, loud and clear--it was hard not to, with hearing as sharp as his.

He tried to ignore it, just as she seemed to try muffling it, but neither of them had much luck. Part of him desperately hoped that her tears weren't because of him and how cruelly he'd spat at her today. But another, more practical part of him could only snort and mumble, in the brambles of his bitter heart, _Good. It's better this way._

It was all that damned prince’s fault.

Kyo put his hands behind his head as he frowned up at the cloudy night sky. Maybe it wasn’t _all_ Yuki’s fault, if he was being honest, but the prince had made things needlessly complicated. Kyo had only wanted to help the girl and send her on her way, far away, where he wouldn’t have to see her again. She was too nice for her own good, and far too interested in talking to him. He’d never thought that Yuki would _keep_ her here. She was an outsider. No good could come of her being so close by. Kyo had to keep her at arm’s length, and if she wouldn’t stay back on her own, then he had no choice but to push.

But the wringing in his chest betrayed the truth he’d been trying all day to stomp out: he didn’t have to be so cruel.

Maybe he’d ended up just like his father after all. The thought made his stomach churn.

A familiar smell, a mixture of ink and dust and old books, wafted towards him as he heard footsteps on the ladder. Right, he’d almost forgotten. It was Shigure’s fault, too.

“Ah, what a lovely night for some rooftop introspection. Mind if I join you?” Shigure didn’t wait for a response before sitting beside Kyo.

"What are you doing here?" Kyo sneered.

"Oh, are you the only one who's allowed to brood on the castle walls?"

“Shouldn’t you be out making your rounds?”

Shigure gave one of his sneaky little smiles, the ones he used when he didn’t want to give real answers. “It’s a quiet night.” He tilted his head, listening. “Well, except for _her_.”

Kyo fidgeted where he lay. He hadn’t considered how creepy it was to listen to someone crying until Shigure was the one doing it. The girl was certainly being respectful of anyone nearby with how she muffled her weeping; he wondered if she usually cried so softly. He kept his voice low when he responded: “Nah, she’s pretty quiet. We’re probably the only ones who can hear her.”

Shigure hummed thoughtfully. “We truly are burdened, aren’t we?”

Growling, Kyo rolled over to put his back to Shigure. “Seriously, what do you want? You never come up here.”

Instead of answering, Shigure asked a question of his own. “Why do you think she’s crying?”

"I don't care."

"I see. And what would Master Kazuma say if he could hear you lying like that?"

Kyo gritted his teeth. The truth of it was like a gut-punch. "That's a cheap shot, even for you."

Shigure laughed. “Oh, you know me: I love a good cheap shot.”

Kyo hoped that by not engaging, Shigure would get bored and leave; but he really should have known better as the man spoke again, “I do hate to hear her crying like that. She’s awfully nice, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. _Too_ nice. Like she might poke around and ask too many questions and learn something that she really shouldn’t.”

Kyo could just _hear_ the smug smile in Shigure’s voice. “Ah, is that what you’re so worried about?”

He finally sat up and looked Shigure in the eyes. “Obviously! Maybe it doesn’t matter to you and that rat bastard, but it’s a big deal to me!”

Shigure raised an eyebrow. “Of course it’s a big deal to us. We’re all in the same boat here, after all.”

Kyo jabbed a finger towards Shigure’s chest. “We’re not, and you know it.”

“Fair enough, but would it really be such a drastic difference in the eyes of a regular human?”

“To a human whose mother was killed by demons?” Kyo stared down at his hands: his very normal, human-looking hands. No claws, no skin red as hellfire. Not that he needed horns to show the truth of his heritage: he’d shown her well enough with his words. How long did he have before she figured it out? How long until she smelled the brimstone in his blood?

“Yeah,” he muttered. “It’s a damned big difference.”

Shigure was silent for a moment, until he responded with--maddeningly--a simple shrug. “Maybe. Or maybe not! Who knows?”

Kyo snorted. “Easy for you to say. What’s the worst thing your ancestors ever did?”

“Fae have not had to do much of anything for humans to fear them.”

“Yeah, well, when that girl finds out the truth about us both, she’s going to be a lot less scared of you. Hell, if she has half a brain, she’ll probably run away screaming from me.”

Shigure folded his hands beneath his nose, but Kyo could still see that smug smile in his eyes. “And what if she doesn’t?”

Kyo sighed. Was it even worth debating Shigure? The man always seemed to have an answer for everything, and the confidence to make that answer sound more sensible than it usually was. Kyo, meanwhile, had never had the head for debate. His mind ran on instinct, on taking the bait, on putting fists through walls, over and over again, no matter how many times he’d made the same mistakes before. He’d made that all too clear today.

“She should,” he grumbled.

It was a drastic difference, and no platitudes from Shigure could convince him otherwise. Shigure was fae-touched, a descendant of one of the original orphans who’d built this castle as a bastion against the demons. People within the castle who knew the truth sometimes called the fae-touched "blessed." Kyo had some of that "blessed" blood himself, passed down to him by his mother. But being so blessed had not helped her when it counted. It hadn't stopped her from being tricked by a demon lord, from bearing that demon's child, from deciding that it was all too much to endure in the end.

“None of us got to choose.” Shigure’s words cut through Kyo’s dark thoughts. “No one gets to choose the circumstances of their own birth. We’re simply handed the choices that our ancestors made. Neither of us get to be fully human. But we do get to choose what comes after.”

When Kyo wrinkled his nose, Shigure continued with a wave of his hand. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m not saying that the paths available to you aren’t far more difficult to tread than my own. No one would deny that. I’m only saying that we do get to choose what sort of men we’re going to be. So, Kyo, are you going to be a man who rises above the tragedies of his heritage?” Smirking, he jerked his chin towards the distant, muffled sobs. “Or, are you going to be the sort of man who makes a girl cry because he thinks that’s what’s best for her?”

Kyo didn’t have an answer, and Shigure didn’t wait for him to give one. He stood, stretching, and said, “Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your brooding. Good night!”

“Asshole,” Kyo muttered as Shigure descended the ladder. “You just came up here to guilt me.”

Not that he didn’t deserve it.

Kyo stayed there, listening to Tohru’s cries until they finally grew quiet and his too-keen ears heard the window softly close.

\---

At noon the next day, Kyo found himself pacing through the gardens outside the infirmary. No matter where he stood, his nostrils burned with the smell of too many herbs mixed together. He’d been out here for an hour already, and he’d spent most of it rehearsing in his head several versions of an apologetic speech, and they were all terrible. He wasn’t even sure if he’d see Tohru out here any time soon. Would Hatori let her take a break to eat? Hatori never seemed to stop working, but that didn’t mean he had to hold Tohru to the same standards.

Just as Kyo was trying to decide if he should storm the infirmary and demand that Tohru get a break, he heard light footsteps on the cobblestone path. He halted his pacing and turned to see Tohru walking out into the gardens, her arms stretched overhead. Her dress, though still humble in its design, was much nicer than the one he’d originally found her in. She must’ve gotten it from one of the servants. She wore a white apron over the dress, the two large pockets stuffed with bottles, herb sprigs, and other physicians’ tools.

She caught his gaze and froze mid-stretch. Her eyes went wide, and she hopped backwards with a yelp.

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t know you’d be here, I wouldn’t have come out this way, I-- I’ll--”

Kyo hurried towards her with his hands raised, as if in surrender. “It’s fine, look, can you just…” He blew out a long breath. “Just let me talk, okay?”

She bit her lip and nodded. He could see her hands shaking even as she clasped them together.

He let out another breath and scratched the back of his head. None of those contrived speeches he’d planned seemed right, so he simply blurted out the most important part: “I’m sorry! For how I treated you yesterday. I’m sorry.” He clenched his teeth and looked away. He’d already apologized to her once before; how many more apologies was she willing to accept? It was easier to speak if he didn’t have to see any looks of sadness or disdain or whatever else she decided to throw at him. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m not good at talking to people. And… I’m not used to people thanking me, or complimenting me, or any of those other nice things you were doing yesterday. But that doesn’t give me the right to be such a bastard to you. So… I’m sorry. And if I ever do anything that pisses you off or makes you sad, you can feel free to hit me or yell at me or whatever else will make you feel better.”

As he paused, thinking of what to say next, a tiny, quivering voice spoke up, “I don’t think hitting you would make me feel better…”

Kyo sighed. “But… you know what I mean. And you don’t have to hang around me if I’m making you upset, but… I’m… going to try harder. I don’t wanna have to keep apologizing like this. So I’ll do better.” He finally dared to look at her, and he found her gaping back at him. Those large, brown eyes and delicate features made her look like a startled deer. Kyo realized he was slouching, shying away from her; he stood up straight and said, “And I know I’m the biggest asshole here, but you really gotta be nicer to yourself.”

She blinked. “Huh? Me?”

“Yeah.” He could feel his voice growing heated as he spoke, but maybe it wouldn’t be so bad in this case; anything to get the point across. “Stop talking about how useless you are. You don’t have to be some kind of elite warrior to be useful. And besides, you weren’t useless yesterday. The elbow you gave to that demon is what let me take him down in the first place.”

Frowning, she looked down at her arms, as if that elbow held the answers to whatever questions were clearly, judging by her baffled expression, running through her brain. “That… can’t be right, can it? I didn’t even hurt him.”

“Sure, but you surprised him. I didn’t want to attack him while he was still holding you, so I was just standing there like an idiot waiting for an opening. When you got him to drop you, I was able to make a move.”

“Oh.” She put her hands behind her back and said with a shaky smile, “But I’m sure you would’ve figured something out, I mean, I was just in the way, and if things had gotten any worse, I really wouldn’t have been at all--”

Kyo tapped his knuckles gently against the top of her head, which silenced her stream of self-deprecation. “Just take the damned compliment, all right?”

When he moved his hand away, she grabbed the top of her head. He’d barely touched her, but she looked completely dazed. “O-okay.”

“And…” His cheeks grew hot as he looked away. “Thanks for those bandages. I have a few, but they look like shit compared to yours. And I was running low anyway.” He risked a glance out of the corner of his eye; she looked back at him with a bewildered smile.

“I’m so glad I could help!” she exclaimed. And she really did seem so. She even seemed, Kyo realized with a jolt in his chest, _relieved_ \--relieved that he’d come here, that he’d spoken to her, thanked her.

She really was an outsider. She didn’t know the full truth. She looked up at him now not with fear or hate, but with unabashed joy.

Warmth spread through Kyo’s chest, but it only got so far before the gnawing darkness crept back in, the truth ever tickling the back of his neck, the voice of the father he’d never met hissing in his ear to remind him that it would not last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to elaborate on this weird lore I've cobbled together for my dumb, self-indulgent fanfic: I'm using the term "fae" to describe all varieties of mythological creatures. There's the little pixies that Tohru encountered in the first chapter, the banshee from her dream/flashback, and also _púca_ /pooka, shapeshifters who can take on various animal forms. Most of the fae spirits inhabiting the zodiac characters are pooka who had animal forms that they favored. I plan on going into more detail with this in later chapters, but I figured I'd talk about it here in case anyone is confused, since I was pretty vague about it in this chapter. :)
> 
> Anyway, thanks for sticking around! I've gotten such lovely comments on this fic, and it makes me so happy that others are enjoying this weird little pet project of mine! The last episode got me real deep in my Kyoru feels, so I plan on writing a lot in the next few days!


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